Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image capture apparatus, and a control method, and particularly to an image processing technique for adding, to an image, an illumination effect of a virtual light source that is supplementarily defined after shooting.
Description of the Related Art
There is a technique for reducing shadows cast on a subject by adding, to an image obtained after shooting, an illumination effect of a virtual light source that was non-existent in a shooting environment. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-135996 describes a technique for detecting a face region in an image, and adjust the brightness using a defined virtual light source with respect to the face region and a shadow region with luminance lower than the average luminance of the face region.
Although the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-135996 defines the tints, intensity distribution, and direction of the virtual light source to adjust the brightness with respect to a target subject, this technique has the possibility that a favorable illumination effect may not be added in consideration of the environment in which the image was shot and the subject. For example, this technique has the possibility that gloss and luster, as well as a stereoscopic effect with an enhanced contrast, may not be favorably represented.